This invention relates to vehicle ventilation systems and more particularly to cowl assemblies that provide an inlet to the HVAC system of a vehicle and more particularly to snap-on seals which may be attached to the front and rear edges of the cowl grille panel to seal it against the vehicle windshield, hood or plenum chamber.
Cowl assemblies for vehicles are located between the hood, windshield and fenders to close out that area and act as a grille to cover the air inlet plenum that feeds air to the HVAC system of the vehicle. The cowl grille panel is usually injection molded of plastic and sits above the air plenum for the HVAC system. The cowl grille panel seals off against the vehicle windshield at the rear edge of the grille panel to prevent water leakage. Normally, a separate seal is used between the vehicle hood and a vehicle cross-member to prevent noise and fumes from the engine from entering the passenger compartment.
Various types of seals have been used in the past on cowl panels, often made of elastomeric or plastic materials, which are adhesively or mechanically attached to the cowl panel. This type of attachment represents a labor intensive assembly process and, over time, the adhesive used can age and lose it bond to the cowl panel.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,146 to Jonathan L. Sheppard discloses a cowl grille to windshield lip seal, the seal including a U-shaped portion and a lip portion with the inner surface of the U-shaped portion of the seal formed as to be complementary in shape and snap about the outer surface of the grille rear edge. Further, the lip seal comprises a dual durometer elastomeric material with the seal body (U-shaped) portion being harder than the lip portion. The rear edge portion of the cowl grille panel is molded in a much thinner cross-section than the body of the cowl grille panel, thus requiring significantly higher injection molded machine tonnage (clamp) forces to fill out the thin section of the cowl grille panel.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,954 to Kopple, et al. discloses a vehicle cowling which includes a seal which is integrally molded to the cowl body in a dual injection molding process wherein the mold cavity is first filled with a thermoplastic, such as 20% glass filled polypropylene. A slide core is first protracted in the mold cavity and after the fist shot of plastic, the slide core is retracted to form a space for a second shot of thermoplastic rubber (TPR) to form the integral seal. The seal of TPR, being softer than the cowl body, conforms to the shape of the windshield.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,541 to Razgunas, et al. assigned to the assignee of the present invention, and included herein by reference, discloses a two piece cowl assembly for a vehicle in which the two cowl parts have an edge segment and a seal member carried by said edge segment which has a sealing flap therein configured to seal against the outer surface of a windshield. The seal member has a hard and soft end, the hard end being connected to the cowl edge. The elastomeric seal is a co-extruded seal having a base of a semi-rigid strip of polypropylene and a lip that is configured as a flap having greater flexibility or elasticity than the semi-rigid base strip. As in the ""146 patent, the cowl grille panel edge is much thinner than the body of the cowl grille panel, requiring additional clamp tonnage for the injection molding machine. Further, the fit of the seal to the cowl edge, while including complementary features between the cowl grille rear edge and the inner surface of the seal body, is desired to be loose such that the seal can slip along the edge of the two cowl grille parts to allow for lateral adjustment of the cowl grille parts relative to the seal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,341, assigned to Ford Motor Co., discloses a sealing apparatus for providing a seal between the hood and the vehicle body structure. The rear edge of the vehicle hood includes a seal engaging member which engages an elastomeric strip which is located on a cross-rail member when the hood is closed.
What is therefore needed is a cowl assembly which includes seals such as snap-on seals for both the front and rear edges of a cowl grille panel, the seals being easily, yet securely installed. The snap-on seals should conform to the windshield to prevent water leakage and conform to the vehicle hood and/or plenum chambers to prevent both water and air leakage.
It is thus an object of this invention to provide snap-on seals for both the front and rear edges of a cowl grille panel to optimize assembly and performance.
It is further object to provide snap-on seals for a cowl grille panel which reduces the clamp tonnage required for the molding machine that molds the cowl grille panel.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a co-extruded seal having a rigid plastic carrier portion for secure retention of the seal to the cowl grille edge and a softer sealing portion to conform to opposing surface such as a vehicle hood, windshield or plenum, and which requires no additional fastening mechanism such as double-backed adhesive or mechanical fasteners.
It is still further object of the present invention to provide sealing shapes for the softer portion of the co-extruded seal which can compensate for uneven surfaces or loose fits of adjacent components.
It is still further object of the present invention to provide a cross-locking feature between the seal carrier portion and the cowl grille edge to increase pull-off forces of the mating parts and improve seal retention.
It is still further object of the present invention to provide a lip seal having an improved opposing moment which insures sealing against the opposing surface.
In a first embodiment the present invention is directed at a vehicle body ventilation system for a vehicle having a windshield, a hood, and a cowl assembly, wherein the cowl assembly comprises a cowl grille panel having a front and a rear edge, a first seal including a sealing portion and a carrier portion wherein said carrier portion is frictionally engaged with said front edge of said, cowl grille panel. A second seal is provided including a sealing portion and a carrier portion wherein said carrier portion is frictionally engaged with said rear edge of said cowl grille panel, wherein the carrier portion of said first seal and said second seal is of a first durometer and said sealing portion of said first seal and said sealing portion of said second seal each are of a second durometer, wherein said sealing portion of said first seal seals against a vehicle hood and said sealing portion of said second seal seals against a vehicle windshield, wherein said second durometer is less than said first durometer.
In a second embodiment the present invention is directed at a vehicle body ventilation system for a vehicle having a windshield, a hood, an air plenum, and a cowl assembly, wherein the cowl assembly comprises a cowl grille panel having a front and a rear edge and a first seal including a sealing portion for sealing against said air plenum and said hood and a carrier portion wherein said carrier portion is frictionally engaged with said front edge of said cowl grille panel. A second seal is provided including a sealing portion and a carrier portion wherein said carrier portion is frictionally engaged with said rear edge of said cowl grille panel, wherein the carrier portion of said first seal and said second seal is of a first durometer and said sealing portion of said first seal and said sealing portion of said second seal each are of a second durometer wherein said sealing portion of said first seal seals against a vehicle hood and air plenum and said sealing portion of said second seal seals against a vehicle windshield, wherein said second durometer is less than said first durometer.
In a third alternative embodiment the present invention is directed at a vehicle body ventilation system for a vehicle having a windshield, a hood, an air plenum, and a cowl assembly, wherein the cowl assembly comprises a cowl grille panel having a front and a rear edge and a first seal including a sealing portion for sealing against said hood and a carrier portion wherein said carrier portion is frictionally engaged with said front edge of said cowl grille panel and said air plenum. A second seal is provided including a sealing portion and a carrier portion wherein said carrier portion is frictionally engaged with said rear edge of said cowl grille panel, wherein the carrier portion of said first seal and said second seal is of a first durometer and said sealing portion of said first seal and said sealing portion of said second seal each are of a second durometer wherein said sealing portion of said first seal seals against a vehicle hood and said sealing portion of said second seal seals against a vehicle windshield, wherein said second durometer is less than said first durometer.
In a fourth alternative embodiment the present invention is directed at seals for sealing a cowl grille panel to a windshield and hood of a vehicle, said seals comprising a first seal including a sealing portion and a carrier portion wherein said carrier portion is frictionally engaged with said front edge of said cowl grille panel, and a second seal including a sealing portion and a carrier portion wherein said carrier portion is frictionally engaged with said rear edge of said cowl grille panel. The carrier portion of said first seal and said second seal is of a first durometer and said sealing portion of said first seal and said sealing portion of said second seal each are of a second durometer wherein said sealing portion of said first seal seals against a vehicle hood and said sealing portion of said second seal seals against a vehicle windshield, wherein said second durometer is less than said first durometer.
In a fifth alternative embodiment the present invention is directed at seals for sealing a cowl grille panel to a windshield, hood and air plenum of a vehicle, said seals comprising a first seal including a sealing portion for sealing against said air plenum and said hood and a carrier portion wherein said carrier portion is frictionally engaged with said front edge of said cowl grille panel and a second seal including a sealing portion and a carrier portion wherein said carrier portion is frictionally engaged with said rear edge of said cowl grille panel, wherein the carrier portion of said first seal and said second seal is of a first durometer and said sealing portion of said first seal and said sealing portion of said second seal each are of a second durometer wherein said sealing portion of said first seal seals against a vehicle hood and air plenum and said sealing portion of said second seal seals against a vehicle windshield, wherein said second durometer is less than said first durometer.
In a sixth alternative embodiment the present invention is directed at seals for sealing a cowl grille panel to a windshield, hood and air plenum of a vehicle, said seals comprising a first seal including a sealing portion for sealing against said hood and a carrier portion wherein said carrier portion is frictionally engaged with said front edge of said cowl grille panel and said air plenum, and a second seal including a sealing portion and a carrier portion wherein said carrier portion is frictionally engaged with said rear edge of said cowl grille panel, wherein the carrier portion of said first seal and said second seal is of a first durometer and said sealing portion of said first seal and said sealing portion of said second seal each are of a second durometer wherein said sealing portion of said first seal seals against a vehicle hood and said sealing portion of said second seal seals against a vehicle windshield, wherein said second durometer is less than said first durometer.